


winterfell is (not) yours, your grace

by Authors_Restraint



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Dany POV, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-06 09:04:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17342534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Authors_Restraint/pseuds/Authors_Restraint
Summary: 'The North cannot be held; not by an outsider, it's too big and too wild. And when the winter comes, the Seven Gods together couldn't save you and your royal army.'- Cersei LannisterDaenerys's arrival at her lover's ancestral home doesn't go as she expects.





	winterfell is (not) yours, your grace

**Author's Note:**

> OMG THAT TEASER WOKE ME UP AND BROUGHT MY LAZY ASS BACK TO LIFE
> 
> So, I don't think I did as good a job with Dany's POV as I was hoping but nevertheless, I managed a one-shot during my lunch hour which I'm really fucking proud of so I'm happy. 
> 
> As always, feedback feeds me. Enjoy!

Daenerys's arrival at her lover's ancestral home doesn't go as she expects. There are no smallfolk who leave their houses to see her as she rides through Wintertown, no cheers for the true Queen of Westeros, hell, Jon doesn't even pay her much attention. But that's understandable, isn't it? He's most likely worried that she might attacked or slandered in his home.

 

Dany thinks he's being paranoid. Of course his people aren't going to be too pleased that he bent the knee but when they see that she isn't coming to conquer but save them, they'll have no cause but to love her.

 

As they arrive at the gates to the castle, Dany scrutinizes this place that countless people in the South have fought each other for. She's...not that impressed to be honest. Perhaps it's because she's used to much larger estates. Winterfell isn't  _small_ per se, but it isn't all that large either. Dragonstone dwarfs it twice over.

 

She looks to Jon, to share in the experience with him but he's not looking at her. He's staring up at the gates of his childhood home and she can't read his expression which bothers her. She would think that after the two weeks they've shared on the boat together, that he would be over hiding himself from her.

 

The guards posted at the top of the wall, look down at them and as soon as they see their (former) King, a resounding yell of  _'open the gates!'_ is heard. Dany glances to Jorah who rides behind her. The North was his home once until he made  _her_ his home. He gives her a smile.

 

She won't say that it reassures her because that implies that she's worried, and she won't say that she needed to see that because she doesn't.

 

As soon as the gates open, Jon kicks his horse into a gallop and takes off without a second glance. Dany purses her lips in annoyance and tries not to feel slighted. He's missed his home, he's missed his people. He's missed his  _family_ . She'll forgive his behaviour this once.

 

She follows after him at a slower pace. The Queen of Westeros can't be seen throwing herself after a simple Northman. But Jon's not just  _any_ sort of Northman, now is he? He's different. He's  _extraordinary._

 

He's very much like her.

 

When they arrive at the courtyard, she takes in the sight of Winterfell's household. Their number is...modest, if she is being quite honest. Jon was right when he said that The North needed her. She ignores the low voice in the back of her mind that says that none of the people here look at all happy to see her.

 

Winterfell is in the process of being repaired, Jon had told her. She can see the evidence of that. The men and women look haggard and tired but not at all uncomfortable to be in such harsh, cold weather.

 

They stare at her and Dany keeps her posture straight and proud. She is a dragon and dragons don't feel the cold. Their stares however, very much emphasizes how much she  _isn't_ one of them.

 

Her eyes roam the courtyard for Jon, waiting for him to introduce her to his- _her_ -people.

 

She finds him...in the arms of another woman.

 

Her horse comes to a stop, and even as Jorah helps her down from her mount, her eyes don't leave Jon and the unfamiliar woman.

 

Who is she? Why hasn't Jon spoken of her? Is she a lover? Was she the reason he took off so abruptly through the gates without a care for Dany?

 

The woman is taller than he is. Jon's face is buried in her neck and they're pressed up  _quite_ tightly to each other, as if they're not in the middle of everyone. As if they're the only two people in the world. Dany can't see where the woman's arms are, neither Jon's. 

 

As she looks around at their audience, they look at the embracing couple ( _couple?_ ) with soft, barely there smiles.

 

Slowly, the woman's eyes lift to over Jon's shoulders and meet Dany's. The way her eyes have moved, Dany has to wonder if Jon's said something to her. The woman's eyes are a cold, piercing blue. Again, Dany doesn't say that Jorah's presence reassures her because that implies that she's worried.

 

The woman, her eyes still locked with Dany, lowers her head, her nose brushing the furs of Jon's cloak. She doesn't look away and neither does Dany. She knows challenge when she sees it. She doesn't know who this woman is but she knows immediately that she doesn't appreciate the way she's embracing  _Dany's_ lover.

 

Finally, Jon and the woman move away from each other and his gaze slowly moves to Dany. Smiling at him coyly, she saunters to him in the way that enticed him so much whilst he was on her island. She doesn't pay the interloping woman much mind.

 

When she reaches him, she takes his hand, and  _only_ then does she face the woman. She's taller than Jon, which makes her taller than Dany. It means therefore, that Dany has to lift her head to look at her.

 

“Your Grace, this is my sister Sansa Stark, The Lady of Winterfell.”

 

His sister. His  _sister_ . As far as she's concerned that doesn't mean anything. Dany's own parents were siblings and she knows attraction when she sees it. 

 

Sansa Stark is beautiful.  _Extremely_ beautiful. Her hair is a shade of red unlike anything Daenerys has ever seen and her facial features are sharp and regal in a way that is so completely striking. Jon's sister looks down at her and gives a small smile.

 

“Winterfell is yours, Your Grace.”

 

Dany smiles, but it's as tense as it feels. She nods her head in acknowledgement. Sansa's expression is politely blank. She looks to her brother then. “Jon, Arya and Bran-”

 

“Where are they?” he sounds frantic then, and his hand slips from Dany's. She watches as Sansa gives her brother a calming smile. “The Godswood. I don't think you'd want to keep them waiting.”

 

“No,” Jon laughs sheepishly. “No, I wouldn't.”

 

Sansa looks back at Dany then and The Queen gets the distinct feeling that she's being dismissed. “Maids will show you and your guests to your rooms, Your Grace. If you would excuse my brother and I. Our siblings are anxious to see him again.”

 

She  _is_ being dismissed. 

 

She can't have that.

 

“Surely your siblings can wait a little longer. I had hoped to speak with your bannermen first. War is coming after all.”

 

And what would his lady-like sister know of war?

 

Jon's expression tightens. “Your Grace, I would have hoped for you to get settled in before we introduced you to the bannermen.”

 

“Yes, and it's been years that our brother and sister have seen Jon. They do miss him terribly.” Dany can't help but think that there's an undercurrent of threat in Sansa's voice.

 

She smiles. “Of course. Where are my manners? This is your home. Of course you should go see your siblings. I do hope, however, that I'd get to meet them soon as well.”

 

“Of course, Your Grace.”

 

Sansa smiles but Dany feels the annoyance, she thinks. Sansa motions to her brother and they both head off in the direction of the Godswood. Sansa moves confidently, evidence that she is comfortable in her home. But it's Dany's home too now, right?

 

_Winterfell is yours, Your Grace._

 

But none of the household,  _Dany's subjects,_ had looked at all welcoming to her. They'd looked at her as if she were an outsider ( _and she is, isn't she?_ ) and as she watches her lover and his sister disapper beyond the castle gates, she can't help but get the feeling that she doesn't belong here at all.

 

She  _hates_ it. It's no matter. They'll all change their minds after they see her risk her life and her armies' lives to save them all. They'll hail her as their true Queen and in time, people will forget that there was a time that Winterfell had only belonged to The Starks. 

 

_I've not come to conquer the North. I've come to_ save _the North._

 

They'll understand. When they see, they'll understand.

 


End file.
